


Reigning Calamities and Ruling Hearts

by emmals16



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Human Leonardo (TMNT), Human Michelangelo (TMNT), Hurt Donatello (TMNT), Hurt Leonardo (TMNT), Hurt Michelangelo (TMNT), Hurt Raphael, Hurt/Comfort, I am a ho for foreshadowing so watch out, I'm Bad At Tagging, Mind Control, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Mind Manipulation, Older Sibling Leonardo (TMNT), Partial Mind Control, Takes place some time after Shredder's first death but idk how any of that works really, pretty much everyone gets hurt at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24569173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmals16/pseuds/emmals16
Summary: ~Stockman smirks, “That just so happens to be our second advantage: those turtles’ weakness will just so happen to be our greatest strength.”Shredder cocks his head to the side, and Stockman’s smirk only widens.“They’ll be fighting each other on our behalf.”~Or, there has always been fights both physically and verbally amongst the existing Hamato clan. That's not to say they'd ever want to fight each other in real battle. With Leonardo and Michelangelo's minds twisted into something unrecognizable, Donatello and Raphael may not get much of a choice.
Relationships: Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the TMNT franchise)

“These two died by smoke inhalation only a couple days ago,” in the dark of the lab, it’s almost impossible to see anyone except for the pale bodies lying on the metal tables, illuminated by a single fluorescent light in the ceiling hanging overhead, “They’re bodies’ have been kept alive on life support all this time— completely brain dead.”

The steady beeping of two heart monitors and twin ventilators are the only sounds in the lab able to be heard, until a humored huff interrupts Stockman’s wondrous gleam, “They’re perfect for the procedure we intend to perform.”

A low grumble of thought comes from the opposite side of the room, “We have tried this on enemies before, Stockman. It has yet to actually be successful.”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Baxter Stockman circles the table in his wheelchair, surveying the two corpses with a wild gleam in his eyes, “But here we have two advantages. We’ll be in complete control over what we upload into these body’s— which is much easier, trust me. Forcing information out is far more difficult than choosing what to put in.”

“I don’t need to know the specifics, Stockman,” the clank of metal and the stomping of weighted footsteps come closer to the center of the room, the shadows grow even darker as the towering form peers over the pale bodies, “How are we certain this will gain us a victory?”

Stockman smirks, “That just so happens to be our second advantage: those turtles’ weakness will just so happen to be our greatest strength.”

Shredder cocks his head to the side, and Stockman’s smirk widens.

“They’ll be fighting each other on our behalf.”

— 

“Leo, why d’you always pick the worst times in the day to do these exercises?”

Leo doesn’t bother answering until he’s managed to land on the upcoming building, “What makes it the worst time?”

Donnie lands beside him, yawning heavily as Raph almost runs right smack into him with his landing. He gives an irked look at the genius before glaring daggers at Leo, “The fact that it’s the asscrack of dawn?”

Leo rolls his eyes, “Please, we’re used to getting up at this time.”

Mikey chooses then to land, not bothering to stop himself from running into Raph, pushing the red banded turtle off balance. He ignores Raph’s startled gasp as he turns to his eldest brother, “Correction dude,  _ you _ are used to waking up at this time.”

“Okay, well,” Leo sighs, taking a step back as Raph charges Mikey angrily, “We’ve been cooped up in the lair because of the cold; figured you’d all like to get some fresh air for morning practice.”

“That’s all well and good, Leo,” Donnie watches as Raph rolls around with Mikey, pinning the youngest to the ground with a maniacal grin on his face, “except for one part: ‘morning’.”

Leo huffs a laugh, turning to look at the rising sun. He knows that he was starting to go crazy with nothing much to do. During the winter months, with many of the manhole covers sealed by ice and the temperatures dangerous to their cold-blooded bodies, Splinter didn’t like them venturing outside as often as otherwise. With Spring coming, he had convinced Splinter to allow them to take a morning run, something Leo chose to do often by himself whenever possible.

However, since his run in with the foot the past winter, Leo had a feeling that his father secretly had another motive for this desire.

The bite in the air caused him to shiver. Just the chill. Nothing more. He ignored it and turned to his fighting brothers, “Enough already, guys. Listen up!”

Raph held Mikey around his neck, both of them standing now, even if the younger of the two was struggling to get free. 

“Instead of just a normal run we’re going to play a game,” Leo smiles, quirking his brow, “Tag.”

“Tag.” Raph deadpanned.

Donnie sighed, “Mark playing tag at 6 a.m. off my bucket list I guess.”

“I don’t—” Mikey gasps, pushing against Raph’s arm, “I don’t think I’ll ev’n be able t’do that, D-Donnie.”

Mikey drops to the ground as soon as Raph releases him, scurrying over to the protective aid of Leo. He sticks his tongue out at Raph from behind the eldest.

Raph smiles, “How about lettin’ me be ‘it’ first, eh Leo?”

“You read my mind.”

Mikey gaped at Leo, “I’ve been betrayed by my own kin, alas poor yorick!”

“That doesn’t even make any sense—”

Raph charges Mikey, the younger squealing at the sudden movement. He traipses away from Raph hurriedly, jumping the spaces between buildings as fast as he can. With another yawn, Donnie joins in the chase, trying to round off on the orange-clad turtle already several metres away.   
Leo watches them for a moment, smiling to himself before he moves to follow. 

But he stops. 

A sensation, like a 6th sense, alerts him to another presence. Not one he recognizes as friendly. And one that is definitely not alone. Somewhere behind him, hidden, he knows it. His muscles clench in preparation for an attack. 

But none come. He spins around, examining the roofs of surrounding buildings 

“C’mon Leo!,” he hears Don call in the distance, “You don’t get to slack off.”

With a tingling sensation still running down his spine, like he’s missed something or like something isn;t quite right, Leo leaps from the building, landing delicately on the next one. 

From the shadows lurks several foot ninja— Leo feels it. He tries to catch up with his brothers ahead of him. Warning them loudly would only alert the foot that he knows they’re there, and they would no doubt attack. Getting close and relaying the message was the safest way to go. 

He jumps over alleys, landing softly every time. Eventually, he catches up with Donnie who’s smiling at him jokingly, “About time you decided to join us.”

“I sense something.”

Donnie’s smile immediately slips from his face, “Foot?”

Leo nods, “Probably. I didn’t see anything, but I can feel them around us. Try not to make it known that we’re aware of them.”

Donnie nods, forcing the smile back onto his face, “Raph, hurry up and catch him, would you! I need another shot of coffee!”

“You’re not looking too good yourself, Don!” Raph’s voice is tight, and Leo realizes instantly that his younger brother has felt a presence as well, “Mikey, get over here you snot nosed tool!” 

Mikey spins in the air mid-jump, “You do know that in the game of tag, you can go after more than one person, right?”

“I know,” Raph responds cheekily, increasing his pace.

Mikey’s face drops, “Ooooh..! Raph, don’t do it!”

Leo grimaces as Raph’s body collides with Mikey’s on the roof ahead of them. They land in a heap of limbs and spin on Mikey’s shell. Leo’s sure the kid will be feeling that later that day. Him and Donnie land right beside their two brothers, Raph still laying on top of Mikey with a smirk on his face. 

“Raph, get off him.”

Surprisingly, the hothead does, and Mikey is laying there, coughing and spluttering. The air knocked out of him. Leo glares at Raph while Donnie helps Mikey into a sitting position. 

Raph holds his hands up innocently, “You know as well as I do that we had to stop him.”

With a sigh, Leo nods. Raph was right. If the foot really was going to attack, the last person he’d want alone would be Mikey. He knew all of them were plenty capable of taking care of themselves in battle. They have all been training since they were very young— they all have the same experience pretty much. He just always had that strange...intuition— or a paranoia about they, especially since he himself had been ambushed by Shredder’s Elite not too long ago.

Mikey lets out a shudder breath, glaring up at Raph, “N-not...cool…”

Raph smirks, “Pretty hot, though, right?”

“Okay, Raph. Donnie,” The two of them look to Leo, “I’ll take Mikey’s turn to be ‘it’ since he’s going to need a moment. You’ll get a one minute head start. Go.”

Surprisingly, Raph doesn't argue, and that’s enough for Donnie to go along with Leo’s instructions. One thing Leo could rely on Raph with was understanding his hidden instructions. He wanted Raph to get Don to safety while he tended to Mikey. It was basically splitting up, but in a way so that the foot would still believe that they were close enough together to not attack them.

Or so he thought.

“Alright, Mikey,” he takes the younger’s hand and kneels in front of him, “One big breath and then we’re going to stand, alright?”

Mikey nods, sucking in a strained breath before Leo pulls him up to his feet. That’s when the shuriken comes out of nowhere, stabbing into Leo’s shell near his head. Leo hisses, eyeing the protruding disk before looking up to where four foot ninjas now stand. He growls under his breath pushing Mikey behind him. 

“Woah!” Mikey shouts, eyeing the shuriken in his brother’s shell, “Where the shell did that come from?”

“Run, Mikey,” Leo mutters to him right before foot ninja reinforcements begin leaping down to the roof him and Mikey reside on, “Now, let’s go!”

He grabs onto Mikey’s arm and jolts him in the direction that Donnie and Raph had disappeared towards. He figures they could easily catch up with the two of them, but that thought iss swept away instantly when a dozen or so ninjas jumped up from the upcoming alley, blocking their path. 

Leo stops, drawing one of his swords while still clutching Mikey’s wrist. Mikey follows his older brother’s example, drawing his nunchuck and pressing his back to his older brother’s shell. 

“What do they want?” Mikey whispered.

“How am I supposed to know?” Leo looks over his shoulder, ignoring the shuriken still sticking out of his shell. He spots a red billboard, taller than most of the buildings currently around them.  _ Take the high ground _ , Splinter’s voice murmurs in his head, “Move towards that billboard. Don’t look back. Go!”

He releases Mikey’s hand and draws his other sword. Only when Mikey has managed to make it to the next building over does Leo begin moving towards the billboard himself. A ninja charges him at his front, slashing at him with his swords. Leo manages to block them, cutting at the ninja in return. When one gets behind him, he becomes too distracted to notice the archer aiming for Mikey who had stopped running, eyeing the onslaught raining down on Leo. 

Once he did notice the archer, however, his blood froze in his veins.

“Mikey!”

The arrow fires at his exclamation. Mikey has enough sense to feel the arrow near, moving out of the way enough to knock the arrow off course. Instead of embedding itself in Mikey’s chest, it stabs into his upper arm. Mikey lets out a howl of pain, clawing at his upper arm desperately.

Leo growls ferociously, kicking at the ninja in front of him before swinging his blade in a circle— forcing all of his enemies away. It gives him enough space to jump over those behind him, and he charges for his wounded little brother as fast as he can manage.

He makes it, gently pulling Mikey along with him, “C’mon, keep moving.”

“This sucks, man,” Mikey whimpers, grinding his teeth together but moving with Leo nonetheless. It takes them only a few minutes to make it to the billboard, and only then do they see how many foot ninjas they’re up against. They come in a wave of black, heading straight towards their temporary sanctuary. 

“Don’t pull it out, Mikey,” Leo snaps upon seeing his little brother messing with the arrow in his arm, “It’s blocking the blood flow.”

‘Well,” Mikey huffs, “I can’t exactly fight with this thing snagging on everything.”

Leo doesn’t respond immediately, searching the skyline for a new target— one that would allow for the two of them to hide and make it to safety. They’re in a small-business area of the city, most of the larger buildings elsewhere. If they want to lose the ninja, they’re probably going to have to make it to the sewers, but with Mikey’s open wound…

Leo mocks Mikey’s huff, pulling off his headband and grabbing Mikey’s arm without any warning. 

“Ouch, dude!”

Leo shushes him, gently wrapping the bandana around the arm and arrow. Hopefully it would at least provide  _ some _ semblance of protection against infection until they make it back to the lair. He then proceeds to snap off both ends of the arrow, leaving a small rod on either end for Donnie to use to pull it out later with. 

“There,” Leo says, not resisting when Mikey yanks his arm back, “Now, follow me. We’re making a run for the sewers. It’s the only way to lose all these guys without being seen by anyone else.”

“You sure we shouldn’t just wait for the guys?”

Leo shakes his head, frowning as the ninjas begin climbing the building the billboard sits on, “They’re not coming back. Not in the time we need them to, anyways.”

Mikey gaped, “What? But I thought we were playing tag—”

“Jump Mikey, now!” Leo bellows as soon as the majority of the foot makes it onto the billboard. It will take them more effort to get down and catch up with them now that they are up higher. Leo pushes Mikey with him, the two of them falling down to the roof below. Mikey instinctively rolls as soon as he lands, but Leo gets distracted by a sharp pain in his calf. 

He exhales sharply, landing on his left foot wrong and hears a disgusting snapping sound. He flails and ends up landing on his plastron, instead of rolling properly, with a loud  _ thunk _ . 

Mikey was already on his feet, running towards the edge of the roof like he was sure Leo was planning on. When Leo isn’t directly next to him, however, he turns and freezes at the sight of his older brother struggling to his knees. Protruding from his calf is an arrow that has gone all the way through the limb. Mikey feels horror crawl up his throat and before he even recognizes the movement, he’s running towards his older brother. 

Leo’s eyes met his, “No! Run, Mikey, now! You know what to do.”

“No way in  _ shell _ I’m leaving you, dude,” he grabs hold of Leo’s shoulder, pulling him to his feet. It didn’t take Donnie to realize that Leo’s left foot and leg were completely incapable of holding up any of his weight, “Especially not like  _ this _ .”

“Go and get Don and Raph,” Leo tries again, a hiss blowing through his teeth as he forces himself to walk as normal as possible. He hisses again when Mikey shakes his head, “They shouldn’t be too far away.” 

“That’d leave you defenseless, dude,“ Mikey smirks down at him, “And you’re plans always center around making sure none of us are on our own and defenseless.”

Leo can’t help but smile at that, but his smile fades into a horrified gasp as a tall shadow blocks the light from shining down on them. Mikey warily follows Leo’s gaze and grips his older brother harder as he sees their one true enemy right in front of them:

The Shredder.

He says nothing, just raises his clawed hand in preparation to strike the two of them. 

Leo reacts instinctively, knowing Mikey won't leave him and knowing he’s too slow to move them out of the way. He pulls his brother close to him— plastron to plastron and waits for the impact despite the confused posture of his frightened younger brother. 

There’s a loud crunch, a sharp pain emanating from Leo’s shell, and suddenly the air is being forced from his lungs. Mikey’s hands scramble for him as Leo slips to the ground, grunting as his face smacks against the concrete. 

Darkness rims his vision, and the last thing he feels is panic as he watches his little brother fall to the ground beside him.

— 

Raph and Don make it all the way to the sewers before Donnie finally has enough, “Why are we heading back to the laie without them, Raph?”

Raph keeps walking, ignoring his little brother’s demanding tone. He can’t ignore, however, how Don grabs hold of his arm violently, “Answer me, Raph.”

Raph rips his arm away, “Leo wanted us to, alright?”

“‘Wanted us to?’ Why?” 

Raph runs a hand down his face, “Foot ninja.”

“Wha…” Donnie stumbles away from him, glancing at the ladder they had just crawled down, “And we just  _ left _ the—”

Raph turns away, walking further into the sewers, “It was so we wouldn’t alert them that we knew they were watching. Him and I both had no idea how many there were and none of us were prepared for an attack at that point.”

It’s enough to hear Raph admit that to Donnie, but he still feels himself shocked at the fact that he just abandoned his brothers without even a second thought. 

Even still, he follows Raph, “Why aren’t you worried?”

“Because knowing those foot morons, they’re probably just some stragglers out to do the typical clan hijinks or whatever.”

“Oooh, big words,” Don teases, feeling slightly more at ease.

Raph huffs, “Whatever. The point bein’ is, both Mikey and Leo have dealt with plenty of those dumbasses before. They’ll be fine. I just knew fearless would never let me live it down if I didn’t get you outta there so he could focus on Mikey.”

Donnie grows quiet, walking a few paces behind Raph. 

“Listen,” Raph says, “The two of ‘em will be at the lair in a matter of minutes after we get there. No worries.”

Donnie sighs, rubbing his arm uncomfortably, “If you say so.”

— 

“We do not know if the other two are nearby, Stockman,” Shredder’s voice pierces the air, sending chills up many of the foot ninjas’ spines, “Hurry your pace.”

“Almost done,” a small device sits right beside the unconscious turtle’s head. Stockman ignores the blood currently pulsing out from the turtle’s shell, flooding the area around him with gore, “Just a few moments and we can move onto the other one.”

“I had thought we were aiming to get the other two,” Shredder says, "To have both brain and brawn without any of that spiritual nonsense to be burdened with."

Stockman gives a victorious sound as he lifts the small, glowing arb away from the turtle’s head. The lights on it glow blue as he hands it to the Shredder confidently, “Yes, we were initially,” he grabs another orb, this one not yet glowing, “But these two were in the perfect position for an ambush. Besides, _that_ one is the youngest. It's bound to work in our favor.”

Right as Stockman places the second orb beside the orange masked turtle, clicking a small button, sirens erupt close by. Many of the foot ninjas jump at the sound, preparing to flee from civilian eyes as soon as the word is given. 

Shredder hums, “Stockman…”

“Just a few more seconds—”

The sirens grow even louder, beginning to echo through the alleyways only a couple blocks away.

“We must have been seen…” Stockman mumbles, hand quivering as an orange light begins imitating from the orb, “There, this should be filtered enough to take, now.”

“Filtered?” Shredder growls, taking the second orb from Baxter’s hands, “Are you certain?”

“Yes,” he says, “We just needed enough for him to be skilled enough to take down the rest of their clan. Even if there’s a slight amount of his memories or personality still there, it shouldn’t matter _too_ much.”

With that, Shredder orders the ninja away, looking down at his unconscious enemies. 

“I should leave you here to be found by the authorities, turtles,” Shredder says, placing his foot atop the orange-banded turtle’s plastron, “But I would rather that honor go to your pathetic brothers.”

He grabs the two of them, lifting them by their plastrons and hangs them over the alleyway’s chasm, “Let them mourn over your corpses, knowing they were helpless from stopping my wrath from raining down on you.”

His hands release them, and they fall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the TMNT franchise.)

It’s the third time she walked down this street with the hopes of seeing  _ anything _ to report to the guys. The third time she found herself crawling through garbage cans in alleyways and climbing up fire escapes to get a better view of the area. 

_ Hopefully _ , if it won't be the third time she has to call Donnie and let him know her search has come up just as empty as theirs. 

Even though it’s only been three days, it feels like a lifetime ago that she got that call from Donnie. Raph’s voice yelling in the background, raving on about whatever while Don tried to explain the situation to her. His voice had the facade of someone who was at ease with the situation, but April could see right through it— metaphorically speaking, of course. 

_ “Hel—” _

_ “April, hi! Sorry to call so unexpectedly and so late, but—” _

_ “Don? What’s the matter?” _

Leo and Mikey had gone missing early that morning, the two of them staying behind and letting Raph and Donnie get to safety. Something about Mikey having to catch his breath or something? Raph had tried to explain it, but April couldn’t understand much over the sound of him beating himself up over it.

Donnie and him had sat around all day, not saying a word to Master Splinter as their dread grew thicker and thicker, watching the time tick on through the day. They had finally called her at nearly 10:00 that evening, practically raving.

_ “Donnie, I can barely understand you!” _

_ “—said there were apparently foot and I didn’t notice anything, but if both Leo and Raph did then that doesn’t really matter. And then Mikey—” _

_ “Don, take a deep breath, c’mon.” _

_ “I-I just can’t get that night at your apartment out of my head...what if they got ambushed! And we weren’t there—” _

_ “I’m coming over right now.” _

And she had hung up. Only when she got down to the lair did she get an understandable summary of what the situation was. She realized why even Donnie seemed shaken from the events of that day. The mystery of it all. The fact that they had already done a thorough search of all the rooftops from the lair to where they had last seen the two of them only furthered the panic.

Raph had gone on and on trying to persuade Splinter, Donnie and her that the two of them couldn’t have gotten taken down by a bunch of foot ninja soldiers. Mikey had only gotten winded, after all. Something that should only have taken him out of commission for a minute or two tops. That was the plan, apparently, Leo and Mikey would be right behind them. 

But they hadn't been.

She turns down a dank alleyway, the light of day barely streaming down into it. She clutches the tanto Splinter had decided to give her for protection at her waist band, biting her lip as she searches the shadowed part of the passage without getting too close. 

After multiple minutes gently kicking over garbage bags and turning over boxes, April chooses to leave with a heavy feeling in her heart. 

She quickly texted Donnie: ‘ _ Maiden Lane=all clear’ _

Donnie didn’t respond, and she honestly didn’t blame him. With a sigh, she moved to the next block, tucking her jacket tighter around herself. The bite of the cold was numbing her fingers, and she could feel her cheeks turning pink as the wind whipped at her face. 

Everybody who was outside at this time looked miserable— flushed faces and bundled bodies, all of them hunched inward to fight off the chill. With February coming to a close, April assumed it would start getting warmer.

Like she assumes every year. 

But she was apparently wrong about that. 

Also, like every year. 

With the sun already setting, April pulls out her cell phone and turns on the flashlight once she enters the next alleyway. She slowly walks into the shadowed and cramped place, gasping when she accidentally steps on a rat’s tail and hears it scurry away. 

She watches the furry creature scurry further into the darkness with a sense of ironic humor. Something catches her eye, though. A shimmering coming from beneath a cardboard box. Like metal when caught in the sun, but this time it was just the light from her phone. 

She feels the rational part of her brain try and tell her not to go closer. That it’s probably some homeless guy, maybe with a gun or some other type of weapon. Bad news for her. But the nagging part of her drives her to move forward, kicking trash out of the way and looking out for anymore rats scurrying around. 

She crouches down, trying to ignore the smell wafting into her nose. She grabs hold of the shining object, hisses through her teeth when she discovers it to be sharp. That sends alarms ringing in her head. With a deep breath, she pulls the metal out. It stretches and stretches, revealing a long blade. 

A katana. Blue thread on the hilt.

“Oh my God,” April grapples with her phone, dialing Donnie’s number faster than her frozen fingers can actually manage. 

It rings only once before Donnie picks up, “April? Everything oka—”

“I found one of Leo’s swords.” 

There’s only a momentary pause before she can hear Donnie climbing up a building, his breath wavering at his movements, “Where? Nevermind, I’ll look at your tracker.”

“Alright,” she says, standing up with the heavy blade still in her hands, “I’ll keep looking around here, see if I can find…”

She stops, squinting at an odd splash of color further in the alleyway. Barely peeking out behind wooden boards. 

Orange cloth. 

Her stomach drops. 

“ _ Hurry _ Donnie.”

She hangs up immediately, leaping over the litter taking up the confined space. Rats screech and scurry around her but she finds herself completely focused on the still form now revealing itself to her. 

_ Please please please _ , she continues the mantra in her head,  _ please let me have good news for the guys. I can’t...I can’t tell them they’ve lost— _

She throws the wooden board out of the way, taking in the pale sight of Mikey. Eyes closed, mouth partially open, leaning up against the wall with his limbs tangled— likely how he had landed there.  __

That thought goes through her head again…  _ landed _ . She gasps into her hand, looking up at the dusk light leaking down to her. 

“They…” she murmurs, placing her gloved hand softly to his pale cheek, “They  _ threw _ you.”

She can’t bring herself to look around the alley any more. She can’t help. She has no way to get Mikey out of there by herself and she has no way to warm him at the moment…

She freezes at that, quickly ripping her hat off and pulling the coat from around her shoulders. Before she can really process what she’s doing, she has her hat and coat on Mikey, barley fitting and probably not the most comfortable things ever, but they’re a start and an effort, so she leaves them, rubbing her hands up and down Mikey’s arms to try and get some warmth into him. 

Turtles are cold blooded, though...she doesn’t really know what to do with that information, or if that’s really what the turtles describe themselves as. For all she knows, they could be their own type of ‘blooded’, a mix of cold and warm. The point being, she doesn’t know.

Behind her, she hears the sudden crunch of boxes being crushed beneath feet— two seperate sounds. April feels like the world has finally gotten off from her shoulders. 

“April!” Donnie comes running up from behind her. He stops, a soft gasp coming from his gaping mouth. Even though she doesn’t want to, she gradually finds herself looking back at him, no doubt fear festering on every inch of her face. 

Donnie wastes no time. He ignores Raph’s question as the hot head finally realizes they’ve found Mikey. He ignores Raph’s comment about Leo’s sword. He focuses on his baby brother’s freezing body. 

“Donnie, what the shell should I do?”

Donnie’s examining a striking bruise on the side of their little brother’s head, but he still manages to answer Raph’s question, “Um...L-look for Leo. If his sword is here— and Mikey is here— he’s...he’s bound to be somewhere nearby if he’s wounded, too.”

Raph sucks in a breath, running further into the alleyway, “Godamnit!”

Donnie ignores his older brother as he wraps April’s coat tighter around Mikey and pulls the tight fitting hat lower around his head, “We need to get him back to the lair immediately.”

“I’ll call Casey,” April says, shivering as she stands, “He’ll bring the Battle Shell here as fast as he can, I’m sure.” 

She walks away, coming out to the street to keep watch. The last thing they need right now is for some random Joe Schmoe to come waltzing over to them when they already have a crisis on their hands.

“C’mon, Mikey,” Donnie whispers, wrapping the younger turtle up in his arms. He may not be able to offer that much reprieve from the cold, but he could try his hardest, “You’re okay. We’ll get you warmed up in no time…”

April walks back to Donnie only a moment later, “Casey’s already on his way. He’s bringing Splinter with him— said that he wasn’t able to leave without him.”

Donnie can’t help but smile at that, rocking slightly, “I’m not surprised.”

“ _ Donnie _ !”

The purple banded turtle’s head whips to the side, gazing into the darker parts of the alley that his older brother had disappeared down. He doesn’t need to ask what’s wrong. Doesn’t need to call back or wait for Raph to continue. 

Raph comes running back to him, his eyes blown wide, posture stiff and Donnie feels dread pool in his stomach like a poison. 

“Donnie, I…” Raph holds up his hands, both dyed a deep red even in the gloom and Donnie feels his hold on his little brother tighten even more, “I—I found Leo.”

— 

When the battle shell finally parks on the street beside the alley, the only visible turtle able to be seen in the light is Mikey. He’s cradled in April’s arms, upper body wrapped tightly in her coat. When she looks to Casey and Splinter when the two of them coming running towards her, they can see unshed tears pooling in her eyes.

Casey stops short but Splinter falls to his knee beside her and Mikey. He grasps for his son’s face, holding it gently on either side, “My son...what has happened to you…”

April sniffs, “Donnie told me that he got hit pretty hard in the head. He’s also got a wound on his arm and is very cold.”

Splinter looks to her for more and she smiles sadly, “But he’s alive.”

He knows this already, but hearing the words out loud… April can see as he practically deflates, shoulder bowing with the weight of his son’s very lives bearing on him. He glances to the blue of the bandage around Michelangelo’s arm, clearly recognizing it without further investigation. She sees the wariness emanating off of him when he speaks once more, “And...what of Leonardo?”

She turns away, hair hanging in her eyes, “I don’t know,” she raises her left hand, pointing deeper into the alleyway, “Donnie disappeared down there only a few minutes before you got here.”

Splinter’s posture turns rigid once more, clearly sensing something now that he’s looking. He nods, standing after running his paw across his youngest son’s forehead tenderly, “Mrs. O’Neil and Mr. Jones— please put Michelangelo inside the vehicle. We shall be there shortly.”

Without another word, Splinter moves quickly towards where he can sense two of his other children— Donatello and Raphael. His brows crease in confusion and worry as he makes out their huddled forms and hears their voices murmuring back and forth between themselves. 

He stops only feet away from them, glancing at the gleam of familiar swords propped up against the alley wall, “My sons?”

Donnie and Raph flinch, turning to see their sensei immediately. 

Raph’s the only one to stand, “Master Splinter...we found them.”

“I had Mr. Jones and Ms. O’Neil move your brother to where it’s warm.”

Donnie looks up to Raph, “We should do that same for him. There’s only so much I can do right now. We should get them both back to the lair as fast as possible.”

Splinter peers around his younger son, seeing the dark form of a limp figure. Even in the low light, he can clearly make out that it’s Leonardo. The way his Donatello is speaking is as though Leonardo is still alive, and yet…

“Raph, think you got him?”

“O‘course.”

Donnie moves out of the way and Raph moves forward, kneeling down and pulling the limp form gently into his arms. When he stands, Splinter can see his oldest son clearly for the first time in days, and he can’t help but gasp helplessly. 

In the low light, Splinter can make out the pallor of Leonardo’s skin and the red coating his body and maskless face. Raph hefts him up closer and quickly walks past Donnie and Splinter without another word. He jogs to the waiting Battle Shell, stepping into the back and disappearing from their sight. 

Donnie sets a hand on Splinter’s stiff shoulder, “C’mon Sensei. They’ll both be fine once we get to the lair.”

Splinter nods, moving with his son at a hurried pace. Even once they’re inside the Battle Shell and speeding down road after road, rushing home, Splinter can just feel something wrong.

Something terribly wrong.

— 

“April, Casey, go find as many blankets as you can. Take them from our rooms, the living room, wherever.”

“You got it, D”

There’s a terrible crash as Donnie quickly pushes several of his machines and projects off his work table, motioning for Raph to set their older brother down onto it. The broken materials lay scattered on the floor, and he proceeds to kick them out of the way as he once again checks Leo’s vitals. 

Leo’s head lolls under his prodding fingers, no conscious reaction coming from his practically frozen body, but he still has a heartbeat. His frown deepens before moving to scrub up his hands.

“Master Splinter, would you please go fill up as many closed containers with hot water as possible. Preferable hot water bottles.”

Splinter bows his head, “I will return shortly, my son.”

“Where do you want me to put him?” Raph yells as he hefts Mikey through their lair.

Donnie peaks out of the lab, drying his hands off on a towel hurriedly, “Set him on the couch. Be sure to get him as warmed up as possible. Start with his core, Raph. You know how it goes.”

He turns away, trusting Raph to get what needs to be done done with Mikey. He had successfully kept a cool head in the alley— had even remained calm during the ride back home.

_ “Dude, is his shell crushed?” _

_ Raph growls, “Shut it, Case.” _

_ “It looks like something stabbed him— something strong enough to go straight through the carapace.” _

_ Splinter bows his head, “Oh...Leonardo…” _

_ Donnie didn’t have the heart to try and comfort Splinter, or really anybody at that moment. He simply tries to measure all of Mikey and Leo’s vitals one last time, hoping that they would somehow miraculously be better and the two of them would jump up, explain everything, and they could all just go to bed. _

_ Splinter takes off his robe, draping it over Leonardo’s silent form and rests a hand on his lolling head, taking Mikey’s hand in his other one.  _

_ “All will be fine, my children. I promise.” _

Inside, he had wanted to freak out. List everything that needed to be done. 

Hell, Mikey alone needed stitches in his arm and head, plus needed to take care of what was certainly a concussion. None of that was even taking into consideration the fact that he had been laying out in the cold for three days, dehydrated and probably malnourished. Those alone could kill a human, nevermind a turtle. Mutant or not, they weren’t immune to severe frostbite and they needed water just like any other living creature. 

Mikey was in danger, but he had to leave him in Raph and Splinter’s hands for now. 

Slowly, Donnie turns back to his current objective. 

That’s all it was…

Leo’s pale face is turned to him, eyes closed and mouth somewhat parted. There’s dried beads of red painted across his plastron from where it leaked down his front. He had been laying on his front when they found him. A terrible position for him to be in— exposing his shell wound to the bitter cold. 

In an ironic sort of way, though, it was probably the cold that saved his life. Slowed his heart rate, kept him unconscious instead of him attempting to move— attempting because Donnie wasn’t even sure… 

Donnie makes a sound deep in his throat, some sort of choke noise that he tries to stifle. 

...He doesn’t even know if Leo will be able to move. 

Ever so slowly, he rolls Leo from his carapace, to his side, onto his plastron. Revealing the damage makes Donnie’s thoughts even darker. He sucks in a breath, pulling a cloth from his table of medical supplies and silently cleaning the sharp edges of the hole. He bites his lip, preparing for Leo to jump up, screaming in pain from him doing something wrong. 

But he never does. 

From Donnie filing down the sharp edges of shell to him patching it with a small sheet of fiberglass cloth and some epoxy to Donnie snapping his ankle back into place and wrapping it in an Ace Bandage, Leo stays eerily still. 

Donnie doesn’t even want to question it since it means that Leo can be pain free for now and that he’s resting, but it makes him beyond nervous for the implications his unconsciousness may actually have. 

As though he can sense Donnie’s thoughts, Splinter comes wandering in, The promised hot water bottles in hand and some blankets from the pile April and Casey had pulled. Without speaking even a word to his father, Donnie places two of the water bottles on Leo’s plastron, two more at his sides. Splinter knows his next actions already and catches him off guard when he places the blanket firmly around Leo, tucking the edges in around him.

Donnie smiles sheepishly when he realizes that Splinter's robe is still peeking out from underneath the blanket. 

“What is your consensus, Donatello?”

Splinter’s voice is even, and Donnie finds himself clinging to the calmness as he dredges up what he found when examining Leo. As he finishes, Splinter’s eyes look down to the floor, a thoughtful look on his features. 

Donnie looks at him for only a moment before speaking, “How’s Mikey?”

Splinter regards the purple banded turtle, almost shaking himself from whatever deep thought he had found himself in, “Michelangelo is already on the road to recovery. He is being warmed carefully, his arm wound is cleaned and patched, and his head has been bandaged. Do not fret my son, now all we have to do...is wait.”

Donnie feels a chill run up his spine once Splinter finishes, “Somethings wrong…”

Splinter shakes his head, “It is nothing Donatello. Just…”

“Just what?”

Splinter says nothing, staring at Leonardo thoughtfully. 

“Do not tell your brother, understand?”

Donnie takes a step forward, “What do you mean?”

“Do you understand, Donatello?” Splinter asks, “The last thing we need at this moment is panic and rage. Calm and focus is vital.”

Donnie nods, taking another step forward, “What is it?”

Splinter sighs, running a hand down his furry chin, “Ever since we found your brothers in the alleyway, I have only sensed you and Raphael out of the four of you.”

Donnie squints at him, “Huh?”

“Leonardo and Michelangelo’s spirits, despite their bodies being very much alive, are no longer here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just had leg surgery so hopefully that means I'll be able to focus on this story more for the next week.   
> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Disclaimer: I own nothing related to TMNT.)

The rise and fall of their chests never stop, something Raph is more thankful for than anything before. Hooked up to IVs, wrapped in blankets, and patched up with stitches and bandages, Raph can’t quite remember what they looked like before then. Not after three days of just...waiting. For something. Anything. 

“Sensei’s meditating again, seeing if something can be found.”

Donnie walks up behind Raph, looking at Leo and Mikey holed up in the med bay. They had dragged in their mattresses just the day before, laying them on the floor and surrounding them with equipment. Then they had gently carried Mikey in and placed him on his mattress, pillow cradling his head and blanket pulled up to his chin. 

Leo had been picked up from the steel table by both Raph and Donnie. They had placed him on his plastron to prevent pressure from pushing on the mesh Donnie had used to bind his shell back together. No pillow, easier for him to breathe. They elevated his ankle with some pillows, however. With the extensive damage to his shell and the muscles woven inside it, Donnie almost forgot about the bones that were fractured in his ankle. 

They had waited the first 24 hours to see if Leo and Mikey’s spirits could be picked up by Splinter once they gained back some strength. Donnie had offered up  _ that _ explanation. The two of them were in the cold for so long, and they were both wounded. Suffering from blood loss. Maybe...they were just too weak to get a reading on. But, once they were settled and were both warmed up and on the mend, he and Raph and Donnie had accepted that they were going to be in that room for quite a while. 

Raph grunts, “Anythin’ change?”

Donnie shrugs, setting the back of his hand on Mikey’s forehead, “Didn’t say. I’m sure he will once he finds something.”

“ _ If _ he finds somethin’.”

Donnie gives him a hard look, “Don’t say that, Raph.”

Raph only grunts in response. 

Donnie goes about checking Leo’s vitals, as well. For all his tinkering and scavenging, Donnie couldn’t quite get his hands on much advanced medical equipment. Just some IVs and saline. Their heart rates and temperatures would have to be taken the old fashioned way. The only other tools he had that he had managed to find for emergencies was an old AED, one with the paddles, not the type that came with stickers in a big red box. He had hoped he’d never need to go looking for advanced equipment. 

Well...so much for that.

Donnie turns to Raph, taking in his older brother’s condition, “You should go get some rest.”

Raph looks up at him only momentarily, closing his eyes and humming. Donnie sighs. The older turtle hadn't left the med bay since he had overheard Splinter talking to Donnie about Leo and Mikey’s lack of spiritual presence days ago. 

Surprisingly, Raph’s rampage had only lasted a few minutes. Some shouting, some kicking random innocent objects. A few bouts of profanity. April and Casey had only watched silently, gathering all the information they needed from his anger filled arguments geared towards Splinter, who only took the verbal abuse in stride. 

April and Casey had volunteered to go back to the alley the following morning, to see if they missed any clues. Something to explain what was wrong with Leo and Mikey. Donnie may have been hanging onto the hope that they were just experiencing weakness from the cold and wounds, but the way Splinter would glance at him every time he tried to convince them— doubtful and looking on the verge of wanting to explain why his son was wrong.

When April had asked him about it, Splinter had merely said,  _ “It is not my place to extinguish Donatello’s hope, especially when everything is uncertain, now.” _

After Raph’s ‘rampage’, he had gone over to the couch that Mikey had still been laying on, collapsing onto his knees beside it. He hadn't spoken for the rest of the day. Now he was burning himself out all over again, refusing sleep, to eat, to even just lay down and rest his eyes. Donnie understood, but it was ridiculous. 

Donnie sighed, closing his eyes to regain his bearings. He strode over to Raph, placing a hand on his shoulder. He had to shake it once before the hothead looked up to him, “Just an hour, Raph. That’s all I’m asking.”

He looks completely against the idea, something akin to a ‘stink face’, as Mikey would call it, gracing his features. He shrugs off Donnie’s hand, “Leave me alone, Donnie.”

Donnie crosses his arm in response, “You’re no help like this. Just go take a nap or something, anything.” He leans in front of Raph, forcing his brother to look at him, “An hour.”

They look at each other for a long moment before Raph finally gives in. He falters when he attempts to stand, knee buckling after so long kneeling on them. Donnie tries to help but Raph just brushes him off and heads for the living area. 

Donnie sighs again, running his hand down his face. Out of the three of the currently well family, he found himself thrown into the fray of needing to stay level headed. He was the ‘what if’ the solution couldn’t be found. If Splinter couldn’t detect Leo and Mikey’s spirits. If Casey and April couldn’t find anything out in the city to explain it. If...if Raph didn’t beat the ever-loving shit out of the Foot until they cough up what happened. 

Donnie places the palms of his hands down on the steel table Leo had been resting on just the morning before. One deep breath. Two deep breaths. 

He turns to look down at his two unconscious siblings. 

“What are we going to do, guys…”

— 

Raph slowly eases himself down onto the sofa, grunting as his muscles finally lose their tension. He’d been sitting in there for forever, only getting up to get water or use the bathroom, against Donnie and Splinter’s better judgement. 

He grabs the remote and clicks the TV on. The multiple screens flicker before the room is suddenly illuminated by them. He sniffs, resting his head on his hand. He clicks through the channels, finally just deciding on the news. It’s all bad news, depressing. But in a twisted sort of way, that’s exactly why he chooses to watch it. Maybe watching other bad things happening to people will put this situation into perspective...or something. 

_ ‘The NYPD are looking to identify an individual who showed valor earlier today on Arthur Avenue,’ _ The screen shows security footage from some business aimed towards the side walk. To the side is the street, cars zooming past before coming to a stop at the red light. Raph sighs, rubbing his eye before he notices a car car not coming to a stop on the footage. He doesn’t care altogether as he watches some lady coming across the crosswalk— the car no doubt coming to hit them. Probably not paying attention or something. 

Something dark runs across the screen, grabbing hold of the lady’s arm and swinging from a rope out of danger. Raph freezes, pausing in rubbing his eye as he processes what was just seen. 

_ ‘Seems like some sort of hero is here in the NYC,”  _ the anchor lady says, the screen replaying the clip in slow motion. The person is dressed in all black, blonde hair, Raph guesses, because of the lighter tones of grey in the black and white video. Nobody he’s ever seen, and doesn’t look like a typical foot ninja. But the way they move, though, they definitely seem to have some ninjutsu training— or at least some type of training in general,  _ “If anyone has any information on the individual, contact the NYPD.’ _

“Sounds kind of strange that they want to turn that person in for doing something good,” Donnie’s voice comes from behind him. Raph jumps slightly, spinning around on the couch and eyeing his younger brother. 

Raph shrugs, looking back to the TV, “Said they want to recognize their ‘valor’. Sounds like a hunk of bullshit to me.”

Donnie hums, “You’re probably right.”

Raph watches as the news turns to a different story. Something boring regarding a festival of some kind. A small smile slowly spreads across Raph’s face, “Maybe we should go find them, huh?”

Donnie doesn’t respond, but when Raph turns back to assess his reaction he finds a scowl on the genius’ face. Nothing else. 

The smile falls from his face, “What?”

“Seriously?” Donnie says, crossing his arms, “Now? Of all times, you want to go hunt down some random person from a news clip  _ now _ ?”

“You can’t tell me it doesn’t seem a lil’ suspicious, Don,” Raph insists, feeling the need to stand but not yet doing so, “Some random ninja guy pops up a few days after our brothers almost get killed, and we’re trying to figure out why they still aren’t waking up—”

“I told you already, Raph,” Donnie says, rolling his eyes, “It’s probably just exhaustion combined with hypothermia. We’re cold blooded, it’s not abnormal to be out for a while after—.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you keep sayin’ that,” Raph waves his hand dismissively,”But you’re completely ignorin’ Master Splinter’s concerns, Don. What if he’s right?”

Donnie huff exasperatingly, “What if he is? You really think it’s this person from this random clip that’s keeping them unconscious? That they’re some mystical individual able to steal people’s souls?”

“Could be,” They’ve seen some weird shit so far in their lives.

“Or not,” Donnie says, “We need to be here for Leo and Mikey, Raph. Not out there chasing down some poor person who didn’t do anything other than save someone from a car.”

Raph growls, “Whatever, Donnie.”

Raph sinks further into the couch, crossing his arms across his chest and huffs to himself. He hears Donnie wander away, disappearing into his lab before returning a moment later. 

“I’ll be back in an hour.”

Raph sucks in a breath, shooting up onto his feet, “You just said—”

“I know!” Donnie holds up his hands in consolations, “I know what I said but April and Casey are going to go help me try to find some discarded medical equipment at the hospital. If Leo and Mikey are going to be out for a while than we need more than what we currently have…”

Raph’s face turned grim when he noticed the shadows coloring Donnie’s lower eyelids. The younger turtle’s eyes were downcast, his hand twiddling with the strap of the bag thrown over his shoulder, “Look, Raph. I know you want to fix this and get justice if we can, but...we just don’t  _ know _ what we’re looking for.”

Raph sighs, “Yeah, I know.”

“And even if we did know what was wrong,” Donnie continues, turning to gaze at the open door of his lab, “How are we supposed to do anything with just you and I— even if we have Sensei and April and Casey...if it were the foot…”

Raph walks up to him, placing his hands on Donnie’s shoulders, “Don’t stress ‘bout it now, Don. Go do your thing, okay?”

Donnie smiles thankfully, nodding and moving towards the front door, “Master Splinter’s in the dojo by the way. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Aight,” Raph mumbles as he waves Donnie off. He collapses back onto the couch. He considers going to sleep right then and there, but he knows he won’t be able to. As soon as Donnie exits the lair, Raph is sitting up and walking to the lab. 

He pauses in the doorway, staring into the shadowed room. A small lamp is the only light on in the room and the only sound is the white noise and ambience of their underground dwelling. The creak of pipes and the echo of water drops. 

Raph sighs as he glances at the two beds by the far wall, blankets strewn across them. They had taken the blankets from both of their rooms. Or, Splinter did. While he and Donnie were arguing about... _ something _ , he can’t even remember. Their father had gone and retrieved the blankets and tenderly covered their brothers. 

Raph frowns...he and Don had practically been at each other's throats for the past few days. Raph was just...so pissed. Every little thing set him off. And Donnie…

_ “This wouldn’t have happened if we stayed with them, Raph!” _

He was pretty sure Donnie blamed him...at least a little bit. 

“My son?”

Raph startles when a soft and warm hand touches his arm. He looks down to see Master Splinter, looking up at him with tired eyes, his fur a little more mussed than usual, “Is everything alright?”

“Of course, Master Splinter,” Raph grunts, moving so that Splinter’s hand would fall from his arm, “Just...thinkin’.”

Splinter hums, moving further into the lab. Raph doesn’t mention how his eyes linger on the two still forms laying a few feet from them, “You have been doing a lot of that recently.”

“A lot to think about I guess,” Raph sniffs, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, “Donnie left, by the way. I don’t know if he told you or not.”

Splinter nods, “He did. Your brother is concerned about his ability of maintaining the health of Leonardo and Michelangelo. I myself am uncertain about my own abilities as of right now, as well.”

“I know, but...have you had any luck sensing  _ anything _ , sensei?”

Splinter sighs heavily, clasping his hands together. He opens his mouth to speak, a solemn look in his eyes when he suddenly freezes. Both his ears twitch up and his eyes dart to the living area outside the lab doors. Raph is already pushing himself from the wall, hands grasping the handles of his sai in preparation for whatever it was that Splinter heard. 

“What’s wrong,” he asks. 

Splinter strides quickly over to the lab door, peering out into the dimly lit lair main room, “I heard footsteps— ones that are not of our own.”

He smells the air, sneaking further out into the lair, slinking into the shadows. Raph stays beside him, trying to catch sight of something. Long shadows streak across the lair cast by the television light. It reflects and refracts off of the water. Raph finds himself glancing at the dancing shadows, thinking them the intruder Master Splinter apparently heard. 

“Whoever they are,” Splinter whispers, “I believe that they are near the bedrooms,” Raph nods, moving to head in that direction, but Splinter presses a paw to his chest, stopping him, “No, you stay here with your brothers.”

Raph shakes his head, “Sensei, I can’t just leave you to—”

“They are defenseless, Raphael,” Master Splinter insists, moving his hand onto Raph’s shoulder, “They need you. I will call if there is a problem I cannot handle. Now go, my son.”

Splinter takes off on all fours, running to the bedrooms and before Raph notices, his father is no longer in sight. 

“Aw, shit,” He murmurs, slinking back over to the lab door, “Totally the wrong time to go on a field trip, Donnie…”

He reaches the entrance checking behind him one more time before stepping inside the lab and closing the door behind him. He breaths deeply, putting his sai back in his belt. This just figures. Not only are they trying to take care of their two out of commission brothers, then Donnie leaves with both April and Casey, and now he’s been split from Splinter on top of it. 

“Splinter’s probably got it handled, guys,” he murmurs, trying to convince himself more than comfort his siblings— even if they could hear him. Splinter’s a master. He taught all of them. He’ll be fine.

Raph sighs and turns to his still siblings.

“I’ll kick anyone’s ass that even thinks abou—”

Raph freezes, breath catching in his throat. The light of the lamp glistens off of a metallic surface. A blade, gripped in a pale, human hand. A dark form stands in the shadows just beyond the two beds, staring down at them without even acknowledging Raph’s presence. 

The figure has long, black hair that’s tied back on their head, black, loose hanging clothing and boots. A strange aura that make Raph feel like he’s staring at some sort of mannequin. Not an actual human being. Definitely not a foot ninja, then...something, if he were to guess from the chill that runs down his spine, a bit more ominous. A bit more dangerous.

A growl erupts from his throat. Loud enough that the person jumps, like he’s been snapped out of a daydream, and looks to him dully. 

Raph grabs his sai, rushing over to where his siblings lay. He raises his weapons, leaping over a desk and diving over the mattresses that divide him from his enemy, ready to attack and defend— to protect them after not being able to the last time they were attacked. 

The last thing he sees before he clashes with the intruder is bright blue eyes and the shimmer of metal. 


	4. Chapter 4

Only when Splinter reaches the first bedroom does he slow his pace. His heartbeat races in his ears, the smallest sounds echoing in their large, cavernous home cause his ears to twitch.

It’s strange. Usually when they are attacked it seems like the enemy announces themselves, full of feigned bravado and big words for such small actions. Even in the midst of their defeat, they tend to squabble and plead for any ounce of remaining pride. Splinter really just finds it odd that they’re at the point that there is a typical type of enemy to them now.What a wild life he and his sons have claimed.

This person has been trained for stealth, though. Patience. Deception, even.

A loud clatter comes from Donatello’s room.

“…Shoot…”

The voice is that of a young man. Splinter hums to himself in thought. Perhaps silence and patience is not as strong as he initially suspected.

Splinter rushes on silent feet, sliding along the wall outside of the bedroom and trying to listen for any additional movement. He hears the soft tapping of feet moving across the floor. The creaking of whatever it is the culprit apparently kicked. Slowly, they begin moving for the doorway. Splinter prepares himself, griping his cane in a white-knuckled grip. As soon as he sees the form of someone stepping in front of him, he lashes out.

The cane never makes contact, slicing through air. Splinter grunts, seeing his target summersaulting backwards out of range as he rights himself. Splinter stands low to the ground, glaring at the form.

“Who are you?”

The crouching form in front of him doesn’t answer. He does, however, stand to his full height. Splinter expects for an attack to come, but one doesn’t happen. The form cocks his head to the side, the barest amount of skin able to be seen in the dim light of the tunnel. Brown eyes and dark skin, hair hanging in short dreads on one side of his head.

A tingling sensation crawls up Splinter’s spine and he suddenly feels the familiar sense of one of his sons. He feels breathless and tries to understand this sensation but is interrupted by a fist swinging towards him. He lurches backwards, using his staff to knock away the next attack that comes.

The barrage stops when a clatter erupts from further into the lair.The form is suddenly sprinting past Splinter before the older ninja has time to fully understand what it is that is happening. He still feels the tingles in his spirit of recognizing… _something_. Without another though on the matter, Splinter turns on his foot and charges after the intruder.

Another clatter, accompanied by an angry shout and a calmer grunt echo through the tunnels. Splinter’s pace quickens. His son is in jeopardy. Three of his children are. Two of them are helpless, and as of that moment he isn’t able to stand in the way of an onslaught. There must have been more than one intruder. He should have been able to sense that.

After almost a week of no rest, his senses and his concentration just weren’t as well tuned as he would like them to be. As they usually are. He had stayed up numerous nights, first trying to find where his sons were in the city, then trying to locate their spirits. He should have rested so that he would be prepared should something like this come to be. Another shout of frustration echos around him as he makes it into the main cavern of the lair. There he sees three figures. One of them turning and twisting between two others— the intruders.

That’s when the familiar sensation flows through him once again and understanding finally dawns on him.

Splinter feels panic, something so rarely felt in his well controlled resolve, leak into his voice when he calls for his son, “Raphael!”

—

The man stumbles backwards and it’s enough to make Raph feel the stress leave his body ever so slightly. In the shadows, lurking unseen and unheard, the man seemed like a threat. Something dangerous and untouchable. Once Raph’s sai make contact with the sword— a katana, to be specific, his fight instinct kicks in full throttle. It’s a single katana. The blade was close to the man’s face, reflecting the glare directed towards Raphael. Raph meets the gaze head on.

Raph steps back a few paces, smirking to himself. Leo and Mikey are still there, the tops of their heads the only thing able to be seen beneath the blankets. They don’t move at the movement and the tensity surrounding them. Despite them being completely open to attack, the intruder just glances at them, almost with disregard

“You’re not so tough,” Raph snarls.

The man huffs, readjusting his grip and side stepping until he was no longer hampered by the two bodies on the ground in front of him. He eyes the beakers and chemicals adorning a nearby table, quirking an eyebrow at it. Raph ignores the looks, charging for the man once again.

The man ducks, avoiding the swipe of Raph’s sai. It nicks the tips of his hair, but he doesn’t react as he sweeps his foot towards Raph’s two. Only one of Raph’s feet get knocked out from under him and he’s forced to stumble into a table as the other one fights for balance. All the chemistry equipment on the table shake and fall over. He curses to himself, grabbing hold of a glass beaker and chucking it at the man when he spins back around to face him.

The man seems surprised by this to say the least. Quickly swiping at the glass container with his sword with what seems like instinct. The glass shatters, sprinkling over the man in shards. When he rights himself after the barrage of shards, small nicks can be seen along his cheeks and forearms.

He copies Raph’s smirk— something Raph finds confusing in the moment.

“Fine,” grunts the man. His voice sounds smooth but low— like someone who would rather only speak when required. When they’re needed to. Raph was expecting something manic or something like Batman. All growly and devilish. This guy was an enemy after all, and one of their greatest enemies has a voice that could give chills to a snowman, “Make this as difficult as you want, I guess.”

The man charges, and Raph fully expects to be forced to clash once again. But, just as soon as the intruder is moving towards him, he’s gone. Vanished like mist into the lab air. Raph’s breaths seem to echo in his ears as he frantically looks around the room. A small clank behind him has him spinning, sai raised and ready. But nothing can be seen. A whoosh to his right causes his bandana tails to flutter and suddenly Raph realizes with great irritation that he’s being toyed with. Like when he’s practicing and one of his brothers spend more time avoiding his attacks then moving head on. It’s the reason sparring with Casey comes so easily. He’s more of a confrontational guy, as well.

He lets out an angry shout. And just as he takes his next breath, feet connect with the floor behind him and something slashes across his shell and shoulders before he even has a chance to turn around. He doesn’t make a noise, just exhales a little quicker than usual. He manages to block the next attack, pushing the katana away from hitting his face head on. He can’t stop the following one, though. The blade digs into his thigh. The warm feeling of blood trickles down his leg and it pushes him to finally push through this intruder’s defenses. He twists the katana out of the man’s hands. The look on the guy’s face is that of knowing of his impending doom. Raph chucks the blade across the room and blue eyes follow it longingly.

Raph grabs hold of the man’s boney forearm, twisting it and pulling it over his shoulder. It only takes a second before Raph has managed to throw the relatively light man through the closed lab doors and into the main cavern. He smacks into the ground with a loud grunt, twisting with a bounce and collapsing into a miserable heap.

Raph follows him out of the lab, satisfied with finally getting the guy away from his unconscious brothers. Why he was in there in the first place…

“The Hell are you doin’ here?” Raph snarls, raising his sai at the man’s face as he tries to rise from the floor. He pauses in his ascent, locking eyes with Raph’s furious ones. The calm in the blue irises makes Raph feel suddenly very vulnerable and uncomfortable. Something familiar but the cold and unfeeling. It makes it even worse…

He’s so caught up in trying to figure out why he’s so bothered that he doesn’t notice the man reaching for something in a small pouch at his side. There’s a quick glint of steel following a jerk of motion, and suddenly there’s a shooting pain in Raph’s bicep. He shouts again, this time in surprise. He has no time to recover as the man moves forward, kicking Raph in the plastron.The air is pushed from Raph’s lungs. He sees a sharp elbow in his vision before white spots are dancing in his vision and the world is tilting on it’s axis.

“Raphael!”

The voice is clear and easy to hear in the quiet of the lair. His head, however, has trouble processing who said it and why.

Something wraps around his neck, squeezing tight—not tight enough to suffocate though. It allows for his head to clear somewhat. The dim light leaking into the lair is the first thing he recognize. The second is Master Splinter charging into the main cavern of their home. His fur bristled and his cane held up in preparation for any attack. The third thing he notices it one of his own sai pressed up against his throat.

A second form comes up to Raph’s side, brown eyes and done-up hair. The younger kid stares at Raph for a long moment, some type of goofy smug smile spreading across his face. It slips away as soon as he looks to the one who has apparently taken Raph hostage.

“Sumātona mono wa dokodesu ka?”

Raph can feel the long haired man’s breath against the side of his face and he can feel the irritated rumble deep in the guy’s chest when the kid shakes his head.

“Nakunatta.”

They’re words that Raph recognizes. Japanese. He’d had some lessons from Master Splinter, but Leo and Donnie were the only ones who actually got anywhere in their lessons. Leo because he was genuinely interested in the culture and heritage, and Donnie because the guy could probably learn anything within a few days if he wanted to. The only words that ring a bell to Raph were ones shouted during practices and ones mumbled in long-thought forgotten lullabies buried deep in his memory. Some sang by Master Splinter when he was sick and practically delirious, others sang by a voice not too different than his own when nightmares plagued three little brothers.

That’s where he recognizes, ‘Nakunatta’. Meaning, ‘Gone.’

He knew immediately what they were missing. They were talking about Donnie…

—

“So,” Don starts, “I’m inclined to immediately check their garbage bins, but the likelihood of any of what we’re looking for being, you know, _broken_ is probably pretty high.”

They needed saline. People who can’t drink for themselves still need fluids, and so far they’ve been struggling to keep Leo and Mikey hydrated— and honestly, they probably weren’t as hydrated as they _should_ be. Especially for being turtles. Creatures who depend on being in water and spend the majority of their time _in_ water. It was a problem they ran into when they were younger. The sewer had ample amounts of water, but Master Splinter wouldn’t let them use it for obvious reasons. He had to go up and take water from more trusting water sources, bring it down, and use that water. It was…just a strange thing to have cross Donnie’s mind at a time like this. It’d been so long since water was at the center of a problem for their little family.

They would need the entire thing— the pole, the tubes, the needles. The whole shebang. On top of that, antibiotics if they could. They had over the counter pain meds and alcohol and that was pretty much the extent that their anti-infection routine went. After three days, Donnie wouldn’t be surprised if Leo’s cracked shell started getting infected. With the patch job that was Don’s immediate panic-filled handiwork that he still (or had) intended to fix once Leo wakes up.

He was an engineer, not a medic. He only began even considering looking into medical training after the incident with Leo so long ago. When he came flying in through the window of April’s apartment. Before then, Splinter was the go-to repairer of wounds. Little cuts here and there, perhaps a sprain or, if they weren’t so lucky, a break. Splinter recognized what to do.

Unfortunately, their father’s knowledge ended where more technical aspects for caring for the wounded and sick came in. Fortunately, those happen to be the aspects that Donnie read the most about following their close call.

April shrugs beside him, Casey on her other side watching the area around them for anybody, “Well, we could always sneak in, take what we need and then leave. It’s not like sneaking around is new for you, Don.”

“No, it’s not,” agreed Donnie, “but I usually have backup sneaking in with me.”

“You have us, Donnie!” Casey announces proudly, but Donnie can only really cringe at his loud voice.

He looks back to the hospital just across the street, “You would probably work as a distraction. Keep the staff out of the supply closets so I can get in and out— maybe through a window?”

April nods, “Casey is pretty decent at distractions.”

“I can be sneaky, too, guys!”

The words echo across the rooftop as if to mock him and his determined expression wilts. Donnie chooses not to grace Casey’s sudden embarrassment with a comment.

“Okay, here,” Donnie says, turning away from the hospital, “They will probably have supplies on every floor, I don’t know much about hospitals, but I feel like that would make sense. April, get their attention by causing a distraction outside. I’ll sneak in a window and search the first floor. If there’s nothing there, then…”

April raises her eyebrows when Donnie stops, “Then?”

“Then…I guess I’ll just wing it?”

Casey sighs, “Great. Winging it always goes really well.”

April rolls her eyes, “I thought that’s you’re go-to trick, Jones.”

In the end, Casey ends up as the distraction. Being dragged somewhat across the pavement towards the front doors of the hospital by April. Medical staff come rushing out with a gurney and an AED. April does her best to keep them from actually taking Casey when them. Something about clinging to him desperately and them having to pry her off of his limp body. Donnie only catches a glimpse before he’s unhinged one of the windows in what turns out to be the break room and slips in undetected.

Having the bright lights of the hospital shining on him just sends a strange feeling of being vulnerable over him, especially with no one to cover his back.

They’ve always tried to do things in pairs. That was Leo’s idea when he started leading them in up above. Even before then, when playing games in the sewer, the eldest would insist of pairing off just in case something unforeseen happened.

A lot of luck that plan had when he and Mikey were ambushed.

Donnie grunts as his foot accidentally pushes a supply cart forward. He curses himself for getting distracted, gripping his satchel closer to him and holding his breath to hear is anyone was coming towards him. Luckily, April seemed to be making a big enough fuss outside that more staff that seemingly necessary had been drawn away from this section of the hospital.

Donnie exhales heavily, glancing up at the cart he had kicked. It’s only a glance, and he’s about to move forward through the hallway before he catches the gleam of rounded plastic. A small smile spreads across his face when he recognizes hooks full of saline solution hung up on the cart, the poles for them attached to the side, folded up to prevent anyone from tripping on them…anyone but him, apparently.

“Sweet,” Donnie whispers, standing once he’s made sure the coast is clear. He grabs uncaringly, knowing that saline was something easily obtainable in hospitals. He might have felt guilt if it was blood, but, lucky for him and his brothers, all the blood they would ever need was stored at home. Stored away just in case something happened.

It was the first thing Donnie looked into once they were able to get back home and reestablish their normal routine after April’s place went up in a blaze of glory.

Don loses count after five bags, moving quick and glancing around him sporadicly. He quickly grabs two poles before ducking back behind the cart. He had needles and tubes back home…but they might have been running low, since he had to use them when collecting blood from his brothers regularly.

They would probably have those in an ICU room or a storage closet, since the cart he was behind only seemed to be carrying saline and the poles to accommodate them.

He takes a deep breath before locating his next destination. He runs as fast as he’s able with the heavy burden now taking up his bag. After getting to the next hallway, ducking behind a biohazard can, Donnie’s phone rings.

Typically, the turtle would probably ignore it. Since it was on vibrate and his family knows he is busy. But, something feels different about this ringing. Not in the actual phone ringing, but the air around him. Like something was telling him that answering that phone was his top priority. Their sensei would call it a type of sixth sense that ninja must have. Foresight, almost. Like understanding the instincts of their bodies and the telltale signs that the universe was giving them…or something. It didn’t really make sense, but this seemed to be that very instinct.

Donnie grabs his T-Phone, reading “Master Splinter” on the ID and immediately answers it.

“Sense, what’s wr—“

“Donatello,” Splinter’s voice is rigid and heavy, like he was out of breath and trying to catch it while simultaneously speaking with him, “You must return immediately.”

“I’m in the hospital now, Sensei,” Donatello says, glancing behind him nervously, “I should be home in, like, an hour?”

“No, we need you now, my son.”

Donnie feels the universe suddenly screaming at him, like Master Splinter always said it could. This seemed more like alarms blaring in his head though and less like space and time trying to help him.

“What happened?” he’s already running back to the break room. Some nurse screams behind him and he assumes that he’s been spotted. He keeps running anyways, “I’m coming now, sensei.”

He grabs ahold of the high-up window he had forced open, pulling himself up and slipping out back to the shadows of the bushes outside. April and Casey are no longer causing a scene by the front door. There’s no sign of them anywhere. He searches the parking lot frantically, finally having his eyes land of a small smear of red in the distance— across the street at the base of the building they were previously hiding atop of.

“Your brothers need you, Donatello. Make haste.”

Casey is on the phone, too. He has a strange expression on his face— a rare one he hasn’t seen since the Golden Puck incident. Whatever that was. This seems…worse, though, and April’s expression mirrors it.

“What happened sensei?”

He’s across the street before Splinter has a chance to answer.

“It’s Leonardo and Michelangelo, my son.”


End file.
